I’m curious, is a 57mg pill the normal previcox dosage? It seems strange that a dog sized pill would be enough for a horse?
Also, anything else I should know about starting my horse on previcox? Do most of you feed it to the horse in your hand to make sure the pill gets eaten and not dropped?
I’m hoping for good results with a 23 year old gelding.
Thanks!
The dosage is small for a horse becuase they metabolize it differently than a dog does.
You can make a hole in a piece of carrot(you can use the end of a clean hoofpick) and stick the pill in the hole.
Yes, 57 mg is the correct dosage for your average horse. I always handfeed it to be certain that they do get it. I’ve been pleased with the results on the horses that I’ve used it on. Hopefully it will help yours–just an FYI, I’ve been told that it takes a couple of days to reach full effectiveness, which is why some vets start with a higher initial dose and then cut back to the 57 mg dose.
Someone I know suggested this ^^ but I knew a horse that was reactive to such a high dose and needed to keep to 57mg
[QUOTE=buck22;6102074]
The vet I used suggested this ^^ but my horse is apparently extremely sensitive to it and was a raving loon on a higher dosage. 57mg dose is more than adequate for mine. I find full effectiveness in 24 hours.[/QUOTE]
Haha I bet he/she is feeling EXTRA GOOD! I’ve never done a “loading dose” either–a vet (not mine) that works on two horses at my farm just prescribed a whole 227 mg tablet for one day and then a half a day for THIRTY DAYS. Unfortunately, this is not the only thing she does that I have a beef with.
I have had two horses on Previcox. One was 18 years old with the beginnings of ringbone in one leg. I was able to continue to show him in reining on the Previcox.
The second was a 30+ year old gelding that I rescued from a kill pen. He was extremely arthritic and it was causing some neurolgical issues for him. After about 7 days on Previcox he could even trot a little. It was an amazing difference for him. It gave his last two months on earth way more comfortable.
I just threw the pill in both geldings feed. I didn’t worry too much about it dropping out but if you are worried just hand feed it or as suggested put it in a treat.
I hand feed it to my horse with a mint so I am sure that he gets it.
[QUOTE=Herbie19;6102088]
Haha I bet he/she is feeling EXTRA GOOD! [/QUOTE]
sadly no, the horse was uncharacteristically illtempered.
I find it is cheapest to buy the big pills and cut them into quarters. My old guy is doing really well on it.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;6102544]
I find it is cheapest to buy the big pills and cut them into quarters. My old guy is doing really well on it.[/QUOTE]
I do this as well. I have found that they are quite easy to split just with your thumb and finger. I was amazed how easy. We generally give them with fig newtons. Almost all of our horses eat them and they are so easy to put a pill into.
57 mg/day. My mare has been on it for a year now and she has been ridden on a regular basis. Before Previcox, she was only ridden in the snow when the ground was really soft. Amazing stuff!!
Several other older horses are also on it at the barn with really good results. We just lost an oldie to colic last week, but she was doing great on Previcox as well, better than previous winters.
Hand feed, since it’s for dogs it’s liver flavored. Some of them kind of give it the hairy eyeball, and the best disguise I’ve seen is stuffed into a Peep!
Great COTH advice as usual!
For those that use the larger pill cut up into quarters:
What is the mg/size of that pill? Is it just 57mg x 4 = 228mg?
And how much cheaper is it, just a ballpark number would be great.
thanks.
I think I pay about $3 a pill - it might have been $80 for 30 pills. Of course, that’s 120 doses. My horses hate the taste - it’s amazing how they can sort through a mouthful of pellets and let the previcox bits drop out of their mouths. I’ve been crushing it to powder and putting it on their feed. I have dropped back to 1/4 pill every 2nd or 3rd day with no change in effectiveness, after a daily dose for a few days. The whole dog pills are 227 mg, I think.
My best advertisement for previcox is my dog. She was off in a hind leg early last summer. I took her in to the vet, who did x-rays and couldn’t find a thing wrong with her. He actually said that, for a 9 year old dog, she had remarkably few arthritic changes. We did 10 days of previcox, just to see if it would help, and she was back to playing like a puppy within that period. She’d been slowing down a bit over the preceeding year, but I attributed it to normal age related changes. She is now back to doing 15 mile trail rides, and she still wants to play ball when we get home. She’ll be 10 in April. I will give her previcox the day of the ride, but I’m not sure she needs it - but it sure can’t hurt.
I paid $60 for the 227mg pills. 120 horse doses. Not bad at all. :yes:
That said, I would not give more than a quarter at a time (57mg). And I think I remember reading here that it’s just as effective if given every other day as a maintenance dose once they’ve been on it for a little while to get it into their systems. Maybe do a search?
Sonny is on the quarter of a 227 mg dose every other day. It works to keep him pasture sound.
I figure this way as he ages and his bone spur and other issues progress we can eventually give it every day.
I just ordered a new bottle from SmartPak. I got the 60 count 227 mg for $157 plus shipping. That is 240 doses which is about $ .70 per dose, If you buy the 60 ct 57 mg then it jumps to more like $2.38 per dose.
Sonny lives with CoTH member, lawndart. She tells me the pills are easy to split. I think she got a pill splitter from Walmart.
The first split you can do with your hands – they are scored. Splitting the halves into quarters is easy with knife.
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to help my guy, but nobody knows what’s wrong with him, anyway:(
I might start him on it again…
I just called my vet for a 2 month renewal prescription and it cost me Cdn$94.94 (taxes included) for the 57 mg pills. My mare takes it from the BO’s hand in the summer or mixed in her beet pulp in the winter. No need to hide it at all.
RedMar, we tried cutting back to every other day and my mare got gimpy right away. Back to every day, she is sound!
I’m having good luck with an every 3rd feeding dosing schedule (57 mg)–a.m. one day, p.m. next day, skip a day, then back to a.m. and so forth. This is adequate, I think, because the half life of firocoxib in horses is 36 hours. May be too complicated for boarding stable staff (I just have 1 backyard horse), but if you can manage the minimum effective dose you lessen the risk of GI and other adverse effects.
Also I just throw the 57 mg pill in the feed. He has no bedding on his comfort stall floor under the feed tub, so I can easily see if its on the floor or still in the tub–so far it’s always gone. Can’t taste too bad. Much easier than bute with this horse.
I use the big tablets, split in quarters, hidden in a stud muffin. I can make a bunch at a time, leave them in a bag in the feed room and it is easy for the guys to put it in my guys feed and he certainly isn’t going to notice the taste when it is shoved in a stud muffin mixed in his breakfast.
It has been an absolute saving grace for my “mature gentleman”. It really has made a difference.
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